Body Cameras are Catching Shoplifters in TJ Maxx and Other TJX Stores
Body cams are being worn by security workers at TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods in hopes potential shoplifters will think twice about taking items out of the stores without paying.
TJX, the parent company of TJ Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods, has had hourly unarmed security workers wearing body cameras in certain stores for the past year.
“The TJX workers who wear the cameras undergo thorough training on how to use the cameras effectively in their roles. Body cameras are just one of the many ways that we work to support a safe store environment,” according to a TJX spokesperson.
TJX, which operates nearly 5,000 stores across 9 countries, might be one of the first to announce the use of body cameras in stores, but they’re not the only ones. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), more than a third of retailers said they were considering body-worn cameras for workers, with 11% saying they were already testing the technology.
Shoplifting is on the Rise
Body cameras could prove to be helpful when it comes to the amount of merchandise stolen from stores every year. Shrinkage in stores, including theft, amounted to more than $112 billion in losses in 2022, according to the NRF.
After the pandemic, many retailers reported a real surge in retail crime, some of it being large-scale, organized retail crime. In fact, Target announced last year it was closing 9 stores in four states because of retail crime, some of it violent, that was threatening workers and customers.
Body cameras are the latest in many security measures retailers have taken, such as locking up merchandise behind glass cases and removing self-checkout stands, to cut down on theft. They are also working more closely with law enforcement to investigate those thefts.
Body cameras could help store owners or law enforcement identify shoplifters, but employees wearing the body cameras would have to be close enough to the suspect to record them, and that could put their safety at risk, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.
